Govt Launches Special Program To Mitigate COVID-19 Impact

The present government has introduced a special program with an outlay of Rs 70 billion to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jun, 2021 ) :The present government has introduced a special program with an outlay of Rs 70 billion to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan launched on Thursday, the program is focusing on upgrading health care facilities, sewerage system, solid waste management, clean drinking water and education.

National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 Vaccine Pakistan formally launched the coronavirus vaccination drive on 3rd February 2021. The detailed plan of action for introducing the vaccine in Pakistan was initiated by the NCOC.

Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved a proposal of the Ministry of National Health Services for the provision of a technical supplementary grant amounting US$ 150 million for the purchase of the COVID-19 vaccine.

ECC had also approved the technical supplementary grant of US$ 130 million to ensure timely procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The amount will be utilized for the purchase of 10 million doses of vaccine during the month of June 2021.

Earlier, China has donated 1.5 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, which has an efficacy of 79 percent. A total of 13.0 million doses of vaccine have been received by the Government of Pakistan while local manufacturing of vaccine has also been started at the National Institute of Health.

As a pre-requisite for introducing the COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan, NCOC constituted an Expert Committee on vaccines and immunization, which will guide the Ministry of National Health Services on the target populations that would be prioritized for vaccination (in phases) and vaccine characteristic to be preferred for use in Pakistan.

Besides this committee, a National Vaccine Task Force (VTF) has also been formed with wider participation of all local stakeholders and vaccine experts to take a timely decision and oversee the preparation process of a vaccine deployment.